KABUL, Afghanistan — Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, has not returned to Afghanistan more than 40 days after traveling to the United Arab Emirates, sources told Amu TV.
Haqqani, who left for the UAE on Jan. 22, remains outside the country as reports of growing tensions within the Taliban leadership continue to emerge.
Speculation about internal divisions intensified in recent weeks following public criticism of Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada by Abbas Stanikzai, the group’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs.
Stanikzai’s rare public remarks have further exposed the deepening fractures within the Taliban’s leadership, sources said.
